Air lift pump



G. BLOW 'AIR LIFT PUMP June 23, 1931 Filed May 28, 1926 3 Sheets-Sheet lI I IIIIIH'MUIVIIII 1 AllIlnivllvllllIllIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIWIIII Aw .AI

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ATTORNEYS June 23, 1931. G, BLOW 1,811,295

AIR LIFT PUMP Filed May 28 '1926 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 ATTORNEYS June23,1931. .GBLQW 1,811,295

AIR LIFT PUMP Filed may 28, v1926 5 sheets-sheet 5 INVENTOR J fiaATTORNEYS 4` www @a Patented June 23, 1931 GEORGE Brow, or xnoXvILLE;TENNESSEE AIR LIFT :PUMP

y falippiicnoa mea 'May 2s,

` This invention relates toair-liftpumps. 'and'has for'its objects toprovide a pump of thistype kwhich ycan beoperated to pump a well of anydepth 'with any pressure of air vor other gas which shall be operable topump oilfwellsby' utilizing vthe naturall pressure V'otfthegasj' whichis' given ofi' with ytheoil in said wells;jwhichfshalls'be operable ateitherghigh or low'pressure of the `operating air orjgaswithoutchange ininstallation, 'to the endtthat the pumpwhenonce installed 1in' anoilwell'maycontinue Ato operate during the life of the Well,notwithstanding the declining gas pressure therein; which shall beoperable'independently of the depth of submergence; in whichV fluidcontaining grit, sand, etc., maybe pumped Without injury to the pump;and which shall be so constructed thatthere shall be no wearing ofparts,v replacements. or renewals. Furthermore, it is an object of theinvention to provide/a pump oi'thistype lwhich may be utilized either inpumping yoils Vfrom wells, Waterl from mines or other fluids-in otherlocations of great depth. Further objects of the invention will appearhereinafter.` l/Vith these objects in view, thev invention comprises anoutside pipe to belowered int-o the well, Vmine or other locationcontaining 0 the liquid to be pumped, whichv pipe'preferably is composedof' sections Y of suitable length, coup-led Atogether bya stage.coupling having a transverse partition extending lentirely across thesame andV dividingit ,into two portions `or sections. The intervalbetween adjacent couplings isdetermined by the Vpressure available,thepressure, of course, being the controlling factor. Suchfpressure may, asabove'indicated, be the natural pressure of the gas given off with theoil in'an Y oil well. Extending down through the lowermost stagecoupling, which" is located near the surface of the liquidto bepumped,is a riser pipe provided; with .means for admitting air orother gasthereinto from the exterior, and this riser pipe extends upward throughthe rst stage coupling yand is `Vcoupled,- as by screw-threading orotherwise, into the second stage coupling on one hs'ideofthe transversepartition therein.v The air or gas third' stage coupling.

192e. sei-iai No. 112,405.

under pressureentering this pipe aerates the liquid column therein,whereby said column is rendered lighter than the column of liquidexterior to the riser pipe, and causesthe li uid to risein theriser pipeto the second stage coupling, 'whence it j' overflows baci; to the firststage coupling and .is caught and retained thereby. l Y` Rising'`r fromthe first or lowermost stage coupling'is a second riser pipe whichpasses through the second stage coupling to the Suitable means areprovided for admitting air or gas under pressure near the base of thissecond riser pipe, whereby liquid in said pipe is aerated and the liquidraised to the third stage coupling, whence it overtlfrws to the secondstage coupling bywhich it is caught. At each coupling, asthe liquidemerges fromthe top of the riserV pipe, theliquid and the fair'cr gasseparate, the liquid, as before stated, falling back to thevnext stagecoupling below, while the air or gas is conveyed' through a suitablevent to the top of the well, where it is permitted to escape, preferablyunder control ofla back pressure valve, to the end that the pressure inthe system may be regu.'- lated for a purposethatywill be hereinafterexplained., By this means, and by supplyf ing vthe requisite numberoffstage couplings suitably spaced, liquid can bel raised Jfrom a mineor well ofany depth, and by placing the stage couplings at such adistance apart that the available air or gas pressure is slightlyVgreater thanfthe pressure due to submergence, a continuous flow ofliquid,

as of oil from an oil Well or'waterffrom a mine, can be maintainedwithout the presence of any movable parts within the well or mine, andat either high or low pressure, as circumstances mayrequire.'` 1

'The vent may take thel form of a pipe consisting of sections open lateach end,'withy the lower end of each section secured in one `stagecoupling and passing upward to the next stage ycouplinf ,i.` The liquiddelivered `from the top of each stage riser pipe overiioivs into theoutside pipe, and is Vcaught by the nextlower stage coupling. Each oftheriser pipes is provided with means near its Ybase forA admitting airor-v gas under pressure.` Such nieansrmay assume the form of y v avariety of mechanical expressions, some of. which, for the purpose of.illustrating the inports controlled by ordinary ball valves providedrwith Vmeans for protecting the entrancey port and,rit` desired andunder some 'l joonditions, kas where a return pipe is provided for theliquid nowing downward trein one stage coiiplingto tliefnext below, apipe if conveying 'air or gasunder pressure tothe` bottom offeach riserpipe may be employed.V

f The inventive idea is capable of .receiving vention, are shown in'fthevaccompanying drawings.y but it is to be expressly understood f thattheinvention `is ynot limited tothe particularconstruction shown Vin thedrawings,

-Y reference being hadftothe appended claims fFig. 3 is `an venlargedvertical Vsection through one form of stage coupling and the'y outsidepipe, with the interior pipes shown in elevation for the purpose ofillustrating l the means or 'coupling'the various pipes;

Fid. 4 ijs a horizontal V'section on the line is a vertical transversesection showing another embodiment of the invention;

Fig. 6 is a horizontal transverse section Fig. 7 isalilre sectionontheline 7-*7 of ieferringto the drawings, in. which like vreferenceycharacters indicate like parts throughout the several views, and irst tothe diagrammatic l, A is a. well sea-ied'at its topby a suitableVVelosure B, and @indicates the'suriace ofthe liquid in thevwell. Sup-"ner, and suitablyspaced, is a series of stage y couplings".l,"v2,'--3-,`74, 5. "While, for tliefpurL f n `the liquidl C (as for examplethe natural gas Vvpose 'of illustration, live such stage couplingsareshow'n, itwill be understood that any deuponVV the depth fottheweltand the' desired i "spacing of Vsaid stage couplings. EachV of thestagepcouplings Yhere shownis 1n the form of a chamber; and eafch 'ofthem,='except the 'top'V -L 'and the'bottom one (l and asv here shown),

" tions 2, 3 and 4'( c oupling12,its bottomend being open or'the isdivided into two chambers as by the parti- Y' Gefis'a riser p1 Y y Ithroughthe stage'coupling 1 into the'li'quid to 'V be pumped giorvsuitable submergence distance, and opens VVat its top into the stage.admission of'liqu'id :as indicated by the arrows. fThis riser. pipeg isprovided with pe extending downwardly means for the admission of air orgas under pressure, here shown in the forinrof a Yring of small holes 7,several such rings being provided at different heights inthe pipe.Extending 'between the stage couplings l and 2 is a return pipe 8, andleading upwardly from stage coupling l through stage coupling 2 and intothe stagev coupling 3 isa. second riser pipera. Extendingdownwardly fromthe riser coupling 3 to the riser couplingj2 is a "second'returnpipefla, which pipe connects with the coupling 2 on the opposite side ofthe partition 2 from the point where the return pipe 8 connectstherewith. In like manner, riser b'extends VJfrom stage coupling 2through stage coupling'l 3 to stage coupling i Llyriser 6 extendsromstage-,coupling 3 Vthrough stage coupling 4 `tostage coupling 5f; andriser 6d extends from the stage coupling l through'v stage coupling 5Vyand outward throughthe seal, B to the point Vofdischarge alsov returnpipe 8b extends froinfstagecoupling i to lstage coupling 8,'-and returnpipe 8 extends'irom'stage co'uplingto stage 'couplinff 4, the returnpipes in eachinstance connecting with the respective stager couplings onopposite sides of the partitions 2', 3.and4".f 5 'i Each of the riserpipesrb, 6; and 6d is provided'with suitable means for? admitting air orgas under pressure near. v'the .bottom thereof, as forexample the portvindieatedat 9. `Exteiiding from the stage eoupling2VV out through `theseal B' is a vent pipe l0, which pipe may be provided with back pressurevalve liexterior to the welll This vent'pipe is"composed 'ofopeneend'sections in free communication at each endwith therespectivestage couplings as shown, so that the air or gas'is vent-ed at eachcoupling, and the vent valve ll' aiiords means` forcontro'lling thevvent pressure, wherebyisuchv pressure may be maintainedy vatatmospheric pressure or above, as Ymay be found desirable;

l Air or gas under Vpressure V'inaybedelivported withinthewell in anysuitable man l G, aerates the liquidtherein,` vcausingV the columnofliquid to rise and be delivered "intov the stagejcoupling 2*,fwherethe air' separates theretroingand rises throughlthe 'vent pipe l0, whilethe liquidi Hows downwardly through the returnpipe Stofthe stagecoupling Yl until the pipes 8 and 6a have been Yfilled tothe-'level ofthe second coupling 2,

whereupon r,the air or gas yunder pressure admitted tl'irough theport`9`cau'sesthe liquid .to riseand :bed'eliveredfrom' the't'ojp of the8a to the stage; coupling 2 Y handfside of partition 2,

' 1. A. A This operationjust described is repeated frisertitintqfthegstage coupling where" the 'LI' YQT? :gas separates therefromand passes thence through? the V ve-nt; pipelO, while the liquid flowsdownward through return pipe andl on the left- ?ltijeacllistagecoupling-V until the liquid j's raised and discharged from the top ofthe-ltisery f 1g 'number of stage couplings may-be employed,

and that the spacing'of these stage couplings rmaybe varied atf'wilLtOVsuitthe circumstances Vo f each particular case, depending' open mine-,,theair or, gasunder pressure which is delivered to the several `riserpipes wouldV bev conducted tof lthe l ports where it .enters said'risersby suitable piping.

y One f; the important features is the backp-ressurevalve 11 cf the ventpipe 10. When desire/d, thisvalveproduces a back-pressure intherentfp'peinstead of atmespher, pressure. Letit be assumed that the stagecouplings ,are placed atintervals to require fift pou-ndspressure tooperate, and that l the pressure of air or gas in the well is `one hun+dred pounds.. Inpfthisaselthe valve on the gas outlet ffwould beset toproduce back pressure 'of lifty pounds so that there, would be a4 [net Iworking pressure of fifty .pounds asrequired. Thisproducticn of backpresf sure has-thefurther advantage that the sysf tem may be `installedwith the stage coupling intervals for low pressure and bernade t-ooper-y ate without loss underhigh pressure, a fact which ,is ofvmuchimportance in oil wellssinc'e the natural ,gas Y pressureA graduallydeclines, and the system' may be installed l with. shortstageintervalsfor-the ultimate low pressure, while nit-.Inayneverthelessbe operated under the high pressure existing at the time ofinstallation. Furthermore, the system canbe controlled by varying thev4back pressureso that one 'installation may Vbeniade to serve forthe lifeof the well and operated under the declining gaspressure in the well,all

lthrough the proper control of the backpressure: A, y ;The foregoingdescription will enable the .principle ofl operation of'my improvedstage a1iflift-pu1np to' be understood. The pre.-

j ferred constructionV ofthe stage couplings is illustratedfinjFigs. 2,3'and 4in which there are shownoutside pipey sections 13 connectedVbystagecouplings 14, Awhich stage couplings vdivided into upperandlower-portions by a horizontal partition 14. f 'l y-Referring t'oFig'.2, 15, 15Aand`15. are therespective risers which deliver the mixed as.;shown in,4 Fig.

y against the passage of liquid. Below the parscribed.

aii' and liquidbelow: the partitions`14, the air or gas being ventedthrough thel pipe 16, and the liquid passing downwardlyy around therespective pipes tobe `caught by the partition 114 in the stagecouplingy next below and provide the submergence for the next lift. Inthiscase the sectional pipe :13 constitutes thewreturn conduitcorresponding to the return pipes 8, 8a, 8b, 8c ofthe diagram 'maticlFig.` lf'For example, the liquid delivered yfrom' the top of riser pipe15 will passy downwardly around said pipe as indicated bythe arrows andbe caught and retained by partition 14, while ther air or gas issuingfrom the riser, pipe 15 will find exit through Athevent pipe 16. Air orgas `under pressure is admitted through the port 17 Ynear the base ofriser-15, resulting in a repetition ofthe operation. Figs. 3 and4-illustrate in detail one form of stage coupling and the manner inwhich the several pipeslare connected therewith. The horizontalpartition 14 in the coupling 14 hastwo openings therethrough, one, theopening 18, through which thethrough-riser 15- passes. vThisthrough-riser has a beveled jamb nut 19 secured thereon which serves tosupport the pipefon the partition14rand at the same time elfectivelyseal the opening .1.8

tition,'the riser 15 (if vitis desired to form the saine inv sections)is coupled to'la lower section by means of an ordinarycoupling 20,as'will be readily understood.` The other opening 21 in the partition 14receives the 100 lowerend of the section of the vent lpipe 16 whichprojectsupward from said'p'artition to a pointslightlybelow thepartitionin the next stage coupling. The section of the lvent pipe 16just below the opening 21 terminates a considerable distanceabove thetop of the riserpipe 15 but below the partition 14, to theend that airor gas escaping from the riser pipe'15 may-be ableto enter the vent pipeand, pass upwardly as previouslyde- Referring now to Fig. 4, the stagecoupling has projecting from its inner periphery a riser pipe supportinthe form of a shelf or bracket 22 through which is provided an opening23, and the lower end of the riser pipe'15 is screw-threadedinto saidopening asshownl in Fig. '3, The bracket 22has a port, or preferably` aplurality of ports 17, extending'fromy the routside of the stageVcoupling 14 to the interior of the p'ening 23` as clearly shown in Fig.4, `and in each of these openings4 a ball and cage valve 24 is mountedForthepurpose of protecting the entrance of the ports 17, a guard orshield is providedwhich guard or shield preferably talrejs i the 'formof 4outwardly extending protuberances 25 formed on the exterior surfaceof the stage coupling above and below the pas" 17,.-asi`wiii.te-unaware@ .eem-aa any spection ofFigA. l

The yoperation fo-f the vstructure shown 1in Figsfx and 4 willbe readilyundersto'od'from what has alreadybeen vdescribed in connection with Fig.VThe lliquidpassing iupward by-'way of the through-riser 15 over.-

flows at a Vpoint just beneath thehorizontal l partition 14 of thenextstagecoupling above and 'descends'within the exterior pipev 13 `andaround vthe other three pipes, being caught bythe partition-14. Y Theliquid Arisesin the space surrounding the riser 15 1 and inthe riser 15,and the liquid within-thefriser 15 yisia'erated through lthe'gports17,-'setting1up u, thefair-lift operationheretofore described..

Figs. 5, Gand 7 illustrate ay somewhatfdif-k vferent Yarrangement of the`sever-al `pipes which, however, perform the; same vfunctionsand'foperate upon the same principle as heretofore described. .In saidfigures, a continuous pipe 26 extends downwardly from the top ofthe'structure to the bottom thereof. T his pipe is made upk of sectionssecured together by ordinary ypipe couplings 27,prefer ablyylocated'just-:below thev partitionin the` stage couplings, and a locknut 28 isscreW- threaded onto each section just above theparfstagecouplings,*but1shall ralso* :serve to seal f 'the' opening in thepartition ofthe stage cou- 1915 --pling through which the pipe' 26passes.A ,Suittition in the couplingvand provided Vwith "a lower bevelededge portion, tothe endithat said nut shall not .on-ly support the pipeswhen' they rest upon'the liartitio-n's of the ably secured uponeachsection l:of the pipe 26,

adjacent the stage coupling, is ahorizentally.

extendingyoke 29; Thisfyoke", as will be understoodfrom an examinationof Fig.-,6',lias at'itsrespective ends Avertical openings29 and' 29Vextending vertically therethrough, which openings are connected by aport 3 0,

' as will be readily understood from'an inspectionV of Figs. 5 and 6.The pipe26 Lis in open communicationwith said port-preferably by Yhaving the sections of saidpipe. above'and below the yoke screwthreadedinto the latter but without beinginsertedffar enoughto obstruct'theport. The bottom .of-each riser isV likewisescrew-threaded intotheopening29 in thef-respectiveyokes, b-ut without entering 'farenoughthereinto to obstructtheport 30. The opening; 29 i in the yoke-'beingentirely open at its bottom, theriseris in open com-` munication withthespace immediately above the partition in the stage,coupling .justbe-V neath.

" fee' "plng,

`1 sur@ is delivered@ are pipe 2e, andina above Y j Vent portsil arekprovided throughi'tlie vertical lwall of the stage couplingjust'be#neath the Y horizontal partitionV in said Icou-l In this construction,airf or gas under piresthe `fhorizontal partition of each 'stagecouepling the airpassesthrough the ports'lBO from `saidpipe to the `Vbase'of the riser npipes115 --15,etc. It will be seenthat in vthisacase theyoke29 performskthe-lsame functionsnas the shelf orbracketQQ in the form:of the invention illustratedv in Figs. 3 andfll,- to` witjit pipeiandcontains'the port through which air or gas under pressure is conductedtothe base ofsaidpipey V' f;

In this form, as in the other formsiheretofore described, the liquid isdelivered Iat thetop of the riserpipe, beneath the partition of thestage couplings, anddescendsftofthe partition ofthe stage coupling nextbelow,\where "itis lcaught and retained within the pipel to the top ofthe well-inthe spacesurroundf ing the pipe 13,V the movements 'ofi theair. Vand liquid being clearly; indicated by-` the/"arrows in thedrawings.,VL Y Y Y It will be observed-that the 'corupling isy one ofsimple construction, "lending 'itself :read- Yily tothe assemblage ofthe several vpipesto bev connected therewith'in yfirm position; and thatthe entire pumping systemfis 'free from moving parts of'feverydescriptionfwhatsoever rwithin theinterio'rof Vthe'we'll. f Thisis amatter of much importance, since,when' the systemfis once installed,`there is no necessity for removal- "for repair vfor 'replacement 'ofparts.r Furthermord'it will bes'een that, even if the 4liquid 'to "bepumpedy contains grit, sand, s or? other Y foreign matter, thesamecannot interfere with'the'succes's'ful operation of the system, n'orcanfitwear or 'deteriorate the Partsl ter to Vwhat height the; liquid-is.t'obe raised,

the system v is adapted f' to eilicientlyf'function, Y

since the number of stages ofthe system can )be increased or decreasedto suit such conditions. It will also be readilyA appreciated that thesystem is adapted to operate under widely varying conditionsofpressure,- since' the distance lbetween the Istage* couplings can beadjusted to confornf tothe pressure avail'- ab'le or desired.Y Asindicated above,y the systemmay be installed withY the stagecouplingssospaced as' to Vbe effectively operated atlow pressure and Vwillnevertheless operate at high pressure, and this-rendersthe,-systempeculiarly adaptable to oil wells, wherein the natural pressure* of vthegas is employed,

Vserves as' asupportffor the base ofthe riser ,f n Win be further#ptreeiatedrha so martwhich pressure is bound to be high when it is iirstput in operation and bound to decrease during the continued operation ofthe well.

For the purpose of illustrating the invention, the system has beendiagrammatically illustrated and, while preferred forms of stagecouplings are shown more in detail, it is to be expressly7 understoodthat the invention is not to be limited to such showing and specificconstruction, since those skilled in the art will readily understandthat variations may be made in the arrangement and construction of theparts without departing from the spirit of the invention, the limits ofwhich are to be taken not from such illustraf What is claimed is l. Thecombination of a sectional exterior pipe, a series of stage couplingsconnecting the sections thereof, a series of riser pipes deliveringliquid to `said stage couplings serially, means sealing the upper oroutlet end of said exterior pipe, whereby gas under pressure can beretained in said exterior pipe, and means venting the gas passingthrough the riser pipes to the external atmosphere against pressureexceeding atmospheric pressure.

2. In an-air-lift pump, the combination of a series of stage couplingsarranged one above the other, riser pipes connecting the alternatecouplings, a return conduit between the adjacent couplings, air ventingmeans communicating with the top of each riser, a riser pipe leadingfrom the liquid source to the coupling immediately above the bottomtion, but from the claims hereto appended.)

coupling, means supplying air or gas under pressure to the surface `'ofthe liquid to be raised, said last-named riser pipe being provided withva series of ports'extending down specilication.

GEORGE BLOW.

below the surface of the liquid for admitting .Y

air ork gas under pressure into said riser pipe as the surface of theliquid is'lowered.

3. In an air-lift pump, the combination of a series of stage couplingsarranged one above the other and each having a partition dividing itinto uppervand lower sections, a series of riser pipes leading from theupper side of each partition to the under side of the partition of thenext higher coupling but one, means conveying liquid from the upper end`of each riser to the base of the riser in the coupling next below, meansaerating the liquid in each riser, air venting means com# .municatingwith the top of each riser,fand

' means controlling the `pressure in said air# venting means.

"4. In an air lift, a sectional pipe, a couvpling for the sectionsconsisting of a transverse partition having two openings there' through,a riser pipe passing through one opening and supported therein by apacking ring secured on said riser pipe, and a section of a vent pipesecured 1n the other opening.

5. Inv an air lift, a sectional pipe, a coui l. O

